Trolley-pole.



No. 866,224. PATBNTED SEPT. 17, 1907.

A. Ross,

TROL LB Y POLE.

APPLIOATION FILED IBB. 5, 1906.

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UNITED STATES ALEXANDER ROSS, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

TROLLEY-POLE Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 17, 1907.

Application filed February 5, 1906'. Serial No. 299,521.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER R'oss, a resident of Rochester, in the county of Monroe and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Trolley-Poles; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to trolley poles for electric railways and has for its object to provide means for lowering the trolley wheel and returning it to the vicinity of the line and to an operative situationwithout danger of interfering with cross lines, and to secure this and other advantages by a simple and efficient construction.

The invention consists in the construction hereinafter described and pointed out.

In the accompanying drawing which forms a part of this specification,-Figure 1 is a side view, partly in section, of the device in use; Fig. 2 is a partial view on a larger scale showing one condition of parts; and Fig. 3 is a like view showing another condition thereof.

Numeral 1 indicates a base or pole support which may be of any approved construction, and 2 denotes a section of a trolley pole pivoted to said base. Said section is tubular and receives a telescoping section 3 carrying a wheel 4 and comprising two members 5 and 6 pivotally connected at 7.

8 denotes a stud or stop fixed to member 5 and movable in a slot 9 in the pole section 2 with the effect to limit the relative longitudinal movement of the sections.

Normally, that is, when the trolley wheel operatively engages the line wire, the telescoping section 3 is held at its lowest or innermost point against the pressure of a spring 10.

ll denotes a cord fixed to stud 8 on the lower member of the upper pole section. The cord may be guided by a wheel 12 on the lower pole section. The cord can be used to lower the pole and wheel but has another use to be described.

In case the wheel is thrown from the wire, and pole section 3 is left free to be moved by spring 10 said section is thrown outwardly until stopped by the stud or stop 8. At such time, the section joint 7 being 'ex terior to the tubular section 2, member 6 is free to turn on its pivot whereby the pole is broken at joint 7 and the wheel allowed to drop away from a cross line or other obstruction, thereby avoiding entanglement or injury by such obstruction. The sections can then be immediately alined by a quick downward pull on the cord, which draws the lower member 5 and the pivot of memher 5, into the upper end of tubular section 2 compresses spring 10, and carries the wheel near the line in convenient relation or situation to be engaged therewith. The connection of the cord and pole will be situated intermediate the section slot and the pole pivot and preferably at approximately a middle point whereby the realinement specified can be facilitated by pulling the cord in direction parallel to the pole and whereby when desired the pull may be transverse to pull the pole down. Obviously the connection 12 should be sufiiciently remote from the pivot or iulcrum of the pole to afford a practical degree of leverage for overcoming the pole-holding spring.

The upper end of tube 2 is 'cut away as indicated and a stop l3 thereby left on the upper or forward side of the lower pole section. This stop prevents the outer member of the jointed section being thrown too far up. It also prevents undue strain on pivot 7. As the pivot between the members of the inner section when the latter is free from the line wire is held above the lower end of the slot by the spring, it follows that the inertia of said section is overcome and momentum imparted thereto before its upper member bears upon the bottom of the slot and the turning of said member on its pivot begins, thereby insuring the force required to start the return of the pole.

To prevent ejection of the upper pole section by spring 10 and consequent dropping of the wheel at all'times when the wheel is engaged with the line, screw threads or other projections on the contiguous surfaces of the pole sections where they overlap may be provided. These projections become engaged and lock the upper section against the ejective force of the spring. The threads or projections however are practically inoperative to prevent the ejection of the joint 7 and the consequent breaking thereof by gravity when the section 3 is suddenly released after having been drawn inwardly with compression of the spring, or when from any cause the wheel leaves the wire.

To prevent the connection of the pole sections from rain, snow and ice a hood 14, preferably of flexible elastic material may be provided.

1 am aware that a vertical slotted tubular rod has been combined with a piston carrying a wire-engaging pulley, and with a spring normally holding the pulley on the wire, the piston being connected to a cord through the tube slot. and piston are maintained in vertical position and sidewise movement is provided for by a rolling support running on a track or guide. The piston is at all times held alined with the axis of the rod and the sole function of the cord is to depress the piston in the tube. 1 am aware that it has been suggested in combination with a trolley pole comprising a tube and a jointed section movable in the tube to operate the jointed section and the pole comprising the two sections by separate cords, and my improvement in this particular consists substantially in the construction and arrangement set forth whereby one and the same cord can be actuated to aline the upper jointed section with the main In such case the tubular rod section, and, when desired, also used independently of such re-alining function, and either before or after its exercise, to manipulate the pole as a whole.

Having thus described the invention what I claim is ,7

1. In a trolley pole, the pivotally supported tubular section provided with a slot at its upper end, an inner section comprising jointed members the joint being nor mally situated at approximately the midlength of the slot, a stop whereby a return movement of the upper jointed member is limited, a cord attached to the lower member near the joint, a spring below the sections, and a connection between the cord and tubular section situated remote from the pivoted foot of the pole substantially as set forth whereby the same cord can be used to realine the inner section members and to control the pole.

2. A trolley pole comprising telescoping sections, one of the sections being composed of jointed members, and the outer or exterior tubular section having a stop on its upper side adjacent the joint to prevent the jointed member from breaking in the wrong direction, and a cord adapted to draw the jointed section within the other.

3. A trolley pole comprising telescoping sections, the inner one of said sections consisting of two pivotally connected members, a spring tending to eject said inner section, projections on the sections normally acting to oppose such ejection, and means to compress the spring preparatoryto overcoming the normal function of the said projections.

4. A trolley pole comprising telescoping sections, the inner one oi: said sections consisting of two pivotally connected members, a spring tending to eject said inner section, projections on the sections normally acting to oppose such ejection, and means to compress the spring preparatory to overcoming the normal function of the projections, said projections consisting of several screw threads on the sections.

5. In a trolley pole, the pivotally supported tubular section provided with a slot at its upper end, an inner section comprising jointed members the joint being normally situated at approximately the midlength of the slot, a stop whereby a return movement of the upper ALEXANDER ROSS. Witnesses:

ELLIOTT M. WILLIAMS, ELROY R. PATCHEN. 

